Grove Bank & Trust Boosts Stock Position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR)

Grove Bank & Trust grew its position in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 208.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 610 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after buying an additional 412 shares during the quarter. Grove Bank & Trust’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $44,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in EQR. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 12.2% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 208,819 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $14,480,000 after buying an additional 22,693 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Equity Residential in the 2nd quarter worth $321,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 24,542 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $1,702,000 after buying an additional 1,110 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 896.2% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 88,927 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,166,000 after buying an additional 80,000 shares during the period. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Equity Residential by 56.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 90,364 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $6,266,000 after buying an additional 32,750 shares during the period. 92.68% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Equity Residential Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of EQR stock opened at $69.78 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.13 and a current ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.25 and a beta of 0.93. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $57.33 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.675 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 110.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EQR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America lowered Equity Residential from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $78.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com raised Equity Residential from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays initiated coverage on Equity Residential in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Mizuho reduced their price target on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Equity Residential currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.69.

Equity Residential Company Profile

Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft.